Japan's crude steel production increased 1.5 percent year on year to 10.01 million metric tons in July 2007, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) announced on Tuesday, August 21.
The production of specialty steel used in motor vehicles and machinery grew 2.9 percent to 2.13 million metric tons in July. In addition, output of ordinary steel amounted to 7.83 million metric tons, up 1.1 percent year on year.
For the first seven months of 2007, Japanese crude steel production reached 69.4 million metric tons, up 3.9 percent year on year.